Tuesday, April 3, 2007

This is my first communication with you as the President of 80-20Educational Foundation. I'm no longer the President of 80-20 PAC. Thefocus of my messages will shift from political actions to educationalendeavors. However, the goal will be the same -- urging AsAms to striveon and become an equal partner in the shaping of the American Dream.

Most of us are smart, well educated, and have good work-ethics. Howcome statistically AsAms still face a very low glass ceiling at work? So fewAsAm Federal and State judges? Our kids face a higher admission bar?

The apparent reason is that we lack political maturity and unity. Thereal reason is that we use the WRONG STANDARD to measure our careersuccess. Let me illustrate.

Something in our culture has induced most of us to measure ourcareer success by a RELATIVE STANDARD. We compare our owncareer achievement with those of our best friends, closest relatives,classmates and colleagues. With such a standard, when some of them aremore successful than us, we feel like failures in comparison. With thatframe of mind, can we ever succeed in networking? No way. We will nothelp "them," because we will be failures in comparison. Naturally then,"they" will not help us.

Do you agree that climbing ladders in America depends heavily on net-working? Do you agree that the best persons to network with will be yourbest friends, closest relatives, former classmates and former/currentcolleagues?

We need to adopt an ABSOLUTE standard of measuring our careersuccess -- a standard adopted by most Americans of non-Asian extraction.

What is the absolute standard? How would that help?

In an absolute standard of measuring career success, one sets a goal e.g."within x years I want to achieve a particular career goal." One thenjoins or establishes a network while sharing one's career ambition withmembers of the network asking for help and helping back. In such arelationship, the successes of one's friends/relatives/colleagues becomeone's own power base to achieve career goals. The more successful theyare, the more they are in a position to help YOU succeed.

When AsAms switch from a relative to an absolute standard ofmeasuring career success, we, as AsAm individuals, will begin to worktogether. If AsAm organizations begin to set absolute standard for itsorganizational achievement, AsAm organizations will begin to worktogether, which will lead to unity within our community. UNITY IS POWER.Power is what we need to eliminate the glass ceiling and higher admissionbar.